Skill point usage in the beginning stages...

[Mother Gunn]

What does everyone do with their skill points when first building a character? Do you build up the skill level tree first or go after maxing out a low level skill first? I tend to put enough points in to get me to level 4 on the skill tree then go after maxing out a skill I want. However, I have noticed that from time to time, I am coming up short in the attributes department (strength, dex, and int.) when it comes time to use some of the better weapons and armor availble to me. Leaving me with the option to have to scrabble around and find charms and what not that will boost the attribute I am short in.

Also (and this might be meant for another post, but it is still building on the character) on that note, what does everyone like to do with their 2 little attribute points you get for every time you level up? Of course if you are strictly melee, it doesn't make a lot of sense to put points into your int. But does anyone have a theory for when to put it into health or energy as opposed to str, dex, and int?

Thanks for the info.

[CoreTwo]

I put almost all my attribute points into what the characters Mastery enhances. Your Mastery will determine what weapons and armor you will want to use. For example if you choose Defense then you get str and dex bonus every level, which helps you equip shields, which often have a +1 to all defense skills. So, its best to also put your elective points into the same.

[url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/titanquest/skillmasteries/earth.php"]Skill Points by Mastery[/url]

The only reason to increase int on a defense is if you happen to have some special armor that you want to use, but I think the best things for Defense Mastery will be based on str and dex, anyways.

On the other hand, if you increase str on an int based Mastery like Earth, your DPS will go up a little. I'm guessing the increase is not as much as the weapon you could equip if you had put the points in int.

As for Mastery points, I put a lot of points on what I want, then later sell off some to get to the next level. Selling points can be pretty expensive but once you have some higher characters who can send items back for lower chars to sell / use. When you get that far, you wont want to put any more points on health or energy.

I use all my Mastery points right away, because I can always rearrange them later. Attribute points are stuck once used, and I keep a few handy in case I need them for equipping something.

Did that answer all your questions?

[Liara]

Seer

I play a Templar (DEF/DREAM),

It took me a while to find out that I could also put points in health and energy; now I don't really need to any more. [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/titanquest/skillmasteries/defense.php"]DEF[/url] gives you a lot of extra hit points and [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/titanquest/skillmasteries/dream.php"]DREAM[/url] too, but also a modest amount of energy. I usually distribute the attribute points when I find something I want to carry, mostly in STR, but sometimes you find a nice rare or epic bow that requires DEX.
In my [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/titan-quest-102/numeric-figures-92897.html"]other post[/url] I enquired about the specific use of the stats, one ought to take that in mind as well.
I came up to a point where I noticed my energy wasn't sufficient. There are several ways to solve an issue such as that. You can put a lot of points in your energy and maybe INT to increase regen, but that's very costly and sets you back on other parts. Instead I just went ring shopping, found a ring somewhere in the orient that gave me some 150 energy and some +14% regeneration. Great, works wonders. I just have to start looking out for a better one in Hades now.

About the skill points, I can hardly ever wait until I reach the next level. You'll never have enough of these. I mostly look at the skills I use the most. [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/titanquest/skills/psionictouch.php"]Psionic Touch[/url], [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/titanquest/skills/batter.php"]Batter[/url], [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/titanquest/skills/shieldcharge.php"]Shield Charge[/url] and [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/titanquest/skills/quickrecovery.php"]Quick Recovery[/url] (for when it gets tight) in my case. I focus primarily on them.
But make sure raising a skill is useful for your character. I mean to say that skills have several aspects, some increase with levels others don't. Make sure that the aspects that are important increase. (E.G. [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/titanquest/skills/distortionwave.php"]Distortion Wave[/url] when you haven't put lots of points in your mastery. If it's the slowing you're interested in, put one point in this skill and no more, since the rest only increases damage.) Also make sure the passive skills are not forgotten, since they are always active.

If you find that you hardly use a skill, go to a mystic and drop it. I did so with [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/titanquest/skills/sandsofsleep.php"]Sands of Sleep[/url] and [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/titanquest/skills/distortionwave.php"]Distortion Wave[/url] a while ago. Maybe later I'll get them again, but at this point I would hardly use them.

Hope this helps,


Liara

[Claudius]

It depends what mastery I am playing. Usually I max out a few bread and butter skills (eg Weapon training for warfare) but I only max out the best skills. Or if the utility of a skill is maxed at less than max pts I do this (eg squall impairs aim 100% with 11/12...and is a VERY good skill). Some skills get a rational amount of points to where there is a break point in their effectiveness (eg call of the wild 7/16). Some skills are 1 pt wonders.

With all those demands sometimes you don't advance the tree fast enough so you have to weigh it out. For example hunting I would think you'd want access to study prey early.

I also build the character according to what I want. No sense biting my nails trying to figure out what 8/10 builders think is the best. You can beat normal by just taking skills at random (I bet).

[shanco]

I usually add a lot of points to the mastery tree at first to build up requirements needed for equipment. But i also make sure to get the primary attack tree started with a couple points. But early on its best to add to the mastery because ur going to level quite quickly at the start and its nice to access the second tier of ur primary attack especially if ur a hunter because puncture shots make it a hell of alot easier to take down crowds. Ok with the attributes if u do elemental damage add to intelligence and if u dont then u do not need intelligence. For example if ur a thane ur gonna do elemental and melee damage so u only need to add intelligence and strength. You do need dexterity for some weapons and armour but you get a lot of dexterity bonuses from the mastery tree if u r a warrior so it may prove to be wasteful if u add too many points into the dex. So basically u add on a needs basis if u need more energy add it more dex add it